Whitpain police have released this surveillance photo that shows one of the men who allegedly robbed the Whitpain Tavern early Monday morning. Photo courtesy of Whitpain Township Police Department

WHITPAIN — Whitpain police have released surveillance photos of the two men that allegedly robbed the Whitpain Tavern early Monday morning.

A search for the two armed robbers who held up the establishment early Monday morning was called off around 10:30 a.m., Whitpain police reported following a several hour manhunt in the area around the Montgomery County Community College.

Police were unable to locate the suspects despite a lengthy search.

A safe was stolen from the tavern along with a red Ford Mustang, owned by one of the patrons, police said. The vehicle crashed at Montgomery County Community College's Blue Bell campus early Monday morning, going into a ditch in a marshy area, Whitpain Sgt. Cathy Penecale said. The vehicle was recovered and taken back to the Whitpain police station as evidence. A search warrant was being sought and it was not yet known if the safe had been left inside, she said.

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No one was injured during the course of the robbery or the search, according to police.

After the search was called off, faculty and staff members were allowed on campus, which was not open to students until noon.

St. Helena School, located nearby at Yost Road and DeKalb Pike, was not placed on lockdown, but students were not allowed outside, a school representative said around 11 a.m.

Penecale said other than the community college, the only school placed in lockdown had been the Goddard School, due to its proximity to the college. Students were allowed in, but police monitored the parking lot, she said. Wissahickon School District schools were advised only to keep students inside Monday morning, she said.

The incident began at 1:33 a.m. when police received a silent panic alarm from the Whitpain Tavern, located in the 1500 block of DeKalb Pike, Penecale said. While officers were responding to the scene, they learned that two black males wearing ski masks took the safe and stole the Mustang, she said. Officers picked up the vehicle and were following it north on Route 202 toward Morris Road and an officer ahead set out stop strips to flatten the tires on the vehicle, but the robbers apparently noticed and veered off the road, went into the ditch and bailed from the vehicle in the area of the community college, she said.

A perimeter was set up quickly and units from all over the county converged on the Blue Bell campus, with three K-9 units joining in the search, Penecale said. Southern Montgomery SWAT arrived and performed a methodical search, she said.

As of noon, police were still working at the scene in Blue Bell and interviewing patrons and employees at the tavern, Penecale said, and hoping to get some surveillance video.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to contact Whitpain police at 610-279-9033.